I’ve been using the Self Journal for three months now. It’s a cross between a planner and a journal and is for a three-month period. Please note that there is a Self Journal and a Self Planner. I had the Self Journal, the Self Planner looks very different than the journal. I purchased the Self Journal from Amazon when it was on a sale for $16.18 back in 2019 and am just now using it. Right now it is not on Amazon except for in a four journal pack for $90. I went on Best Self’s website who makes the Self Journal and I see they have a new coral version (I had the Navy version) and it appears to be a little different than the version I was using as far as the page layouts. Plus, the coral version doesn’t appear to have the fabric exterior but I can’t be sure on that. If I order it again, I would definitely choose the coral version with the hope it’s not fabric and Best Self has it on their website available to purchase for $31.99.
What I like about it:
- I love that the journal is for three months only. Studies have shown that planning quarterly goals is the most effective and I have found it to be the most effective for me.
- The size is perfect for portability. I’ve found Happy Planners and Journals are too large to fit comfortably in my purse. The Self Journal I can easily throw into my backpack purse.
- I like that you get two pages per day. This lends itself to being both a journal and a planner.
- I like the quality of the paper, my Paper Mate Flair pens glide right across it with no problems.
- I like that the printing on the pages was light, so I can customize the planner however I want.
What I don’t like:
- The outside of the journal is a fabric type of material so you can’t easily clean it. Which is a negative for being able to keep it clean and germ free.
- The cover is boring. I tried putting stickers and taping images to it, but they would last for a little while and then come off again.
- I don’t like how the habit tracker is on the weekly pages only. I wish there was a habit tracker on each page. (The new version appears to have a habit tracker for the entire month.)
- While I never did really use the gratitude lines and some other features as they described, having these items there gave me enough room to write down what I need to do each day and notes from what I had learned over the day.
So did this journal help me progress towards my goals more than if I wouldn’t have used it? I would say yes and no. It made me realize that I wasn’t taking action towards my three most important goals. But as far as my day-to-day activities, it helped me keep track of what I needed to get done for my job and tasks in my life and I think it helped me do more because I had a handy task list at all times in the journal. But while I made good progress in household and job tasks, as far as my three main goals I set for the quarter, I made very little progress on these over the three months. But at least I see that I made little progress on my important goals and I can evaluate why I didn’t make much progress on these important goals that would make the most difference in my life. I did use the journal almost every single day. On the few days I didn’t use it, I definitely felt less motivated and got less done.
Overall, I give it four stars and I would purchase it again. This is not a sponsored review. In July, I am moving on to try the Panda Planner.
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